Getting away from our normal routine is usually one of those things that is helpful for me (and I think most of us) to step back and get a little perspective on our lives. And that was one of the things that I valued about our trip to the little corner of southeast Asia that Kristen and I visited this past week.
Here are a few of the things that I was able to gain a little perspective on again:
GOD'S BIGNESS: On my first morning waking up in Macau, I spent some time reading in Psalms and ran across Psalm 65:8. In that passage the Psalmist is writing about the praise the God is so deserving of and some of the things that he has done to show his strength and power. In this verse he says that God has done these things so that "... Those living far away fear your wonders; where morning dawns and evening fades you call forth songs of joy." After traveling the day before from once side of the globe to the other side of the globe, I was reminded that no matter where I'm at on the globe, the Sun is always rising or setting and all over the world there is praise ... there are shouts of joy ... there is worship going never ending to the Creator of it all.
MY SMALLNESS: The other thing that I gained perspective on again wasn't just God's bigness, but my smallness. One of the things that you experience in Macau and Hong Kong, is that of looking out of high rise apartments down to the streets below and in Hong Kong also the view from the peak. And when you see the people on the street below from that view they look like ants. There just tiny specks going about their business. They are so small, ... and I'm so small..
THERE ARE SO MANY: Let me tell you ... while I know that most cities are pretty crowded with people ... I want to let you know that the cities that we visited are packed with people ... (Macau is the most densely populated country in the world!) ... I think that's why one of the things that stuck out to me was just how many people there are out there in the world that need to hear about Jesus. When you are in a place where you are constantly surrounded by wall to wall people and only 2% of the people know Jesus, you get a little perspective on the need ... the reality ... that there are so many people out there who are headed for a hopeless eternity.
BLESSED: One more thing I'll post on here about some of the perspective that I was able to gain... and that is that I am blessed. I'm blessed to have the family I have, to have the space to live in which I do, to have the opportunity to travel and visit friends around the world, to serve in ministry at a place like I do ... and many other things ... BUT most importantly ... I'm blessed because I'm loved by the ONE through whom, by whom, and for whom all things were created.
As we head into Good Friday ... my thoughts are on the cross and I'm humbled at being loved and rescued from a hopeless eternity to an everlasting life full of blessing, joy, purpose ... and good and perfect gifts. While I gained some perspective on this trip through some of these experiences, the cross of Jesus Christ is what gives me the greatest perspective of all. He is what matters most. He is what my life must be centered on. It's all about You, Jesus.
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